1600 年にオランダのリーフデ号が日本の臼杵の海岸に着き、この出来事は、現在まで続いている、414 年の日蘭交流の始まりである。出島のオランダ商館は、江戸初期の鎖国令から幕末の開国まで、日本の唯一の欧州への扉であった。欧州についての情報、医学などの科学的知識などは、すべてオランダを通して日本に紹介され、「蘭学」と呼ばれるようになった。この論文は、蘭学の歴史的発展と幕末の没落に関して論ずる。 / In 1600, a Dutch vessel named ‘Liefde’ arrived at the shores of Usuki, Japan. This event marks the start of the relationships between Japan and the Netherlands. The relations between the countries continued when Japan started its policy of isolation, and have lasted for 414 years until the present day. For over 200 years, the Dutch at the island of Dejima in Nagasaki, were the only gateway to the West. All knowledge from and about Europe was introduced to the country via the Dutch and hence became known as ‘Dutch Studies’ or ‘Rangaku’. This article will discuss the development of Rangaku and its ultimate abandonment at the beginning of the 19th century when the country was forcibly opened to the outside world.